New Growth
Have you noticed the changes outside? I’ll be honest. Right now, all I see is work. Getting rid of the grimy residue, cleaning up the yard (thank you Stella, our adorable dog…), sweeping away the gravel… it is a hot mess outside. And yet. The rain that falls today is washing away the dust and melting the stubborn snow. The birds have come back home and there are bits of green peeking out here and there. Change is coming.
First, we have to do the work. I could leave the Christmas decorations on the ground and the shovel by the front door. I mean, we know the snow is going to come back. I could let nature do its thing and let everything go. But, I also know me and seeing that shovel in August would actually put me in a bad mood. Thus, the hard work needs to be done now.
2 Peter 3:18 states ‘But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen. We as believers are called to grow in two ways - in grace and in learning who Jesus is. We cannot fully understand the impact of grace without understanding who the Son of God is. We cannot fathom His love for us without understanding the gift of grace. We need both.
Your ministry work is very much the same - we have to do the work in deeply learning who God is. The fact that we are teachers does not negate the need for us to be students. We need to grow in our knowledge of who Jesus is. That will lead us to become the very best teachers for those we are ministering too. Learning is hard work. Understanding the bible is hard work. Believing is hard work. However, the result is beautiful. It is when we as teachers embrace and understand the incredible gift of grace that we in turn can share that message to others. A grace that has no limits or boundaries. A grace that impacts us today and forevermore. The beauty of grace needs to be shared!
Our encouragement to you is to acknowledge that what you do is hard work. What you are fostering in your church community is hard work. The relationships you are building, the volunteers you are recruiting and the foundation you are building upon is hard work. But the beauty that hides is there. The opportunity to share this gift of grace is within reach. Thank you for the work you are doing! Thank you for all that you give to your church community. And as you share God’s grace and his message of his incredible love to others, our prayer is that you too are able to experience this gift of grace. Because we all need to experience change… a change where the old is gone and the new bursts forth. Thank you Jesus for your gift of salvation.